Binance suspended deposits of USD Coin (USDC) and tether (USDT) on the Solana blockchain in a blow to the 2 1/2-year-old blockchain. Hours later, the exchange resumed deposits of Solana-based USDT.
The announcement from the largest crypto exchange by trading volume comes after rival OKX announced it will delist both USDC and USDT on Solana, as well as cease support for their deposits or withdrawals. The exact delisting time on OKX was noted to be 3 a.m. UTC on Nov. 17.
Earlier this month, crypto exchange Bybit delisted SOL3L/USDT and SOL3S/USDT leveraged-token pairs, and converted the leveraged tokens into USDT “as a cautionary measure.” It also discontinued FTT — the exchange token of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX — on Nov. 11.
Stablecoins and tokens on Solana — as well as the blockchain’s native coin, SOL — have come under increased scrutiny following FTX’s liquidity crisis and subsequent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday. 1.9 billion USDT is authorized on Solana, with 1.6 billion USDC circulating on the network.
“Binance’s announcement today could be seen as one of two moves,” explained The Block Director of Research Steven Zheng. “One, it could be regular maintenance of code. Two, it could be a signal that Binance is going to deprioritize support for Solana-associated projects and tokens given current regulatory scrutiny around FTX and the deep relationship between FTX and the greater Solana ecosystem.”
Update: The original article noted that there is just over 5 billion USDC on Solana. While this is true, the circulating supply of USDC on Solana is 1.6 billion. Also added a quote from Steven Zheng. This article has been updated to reflect that Binance reopened Solana-based USDT deposits.
Source : Theblock
